


Duality

by xcourtney_chaoticx



Category: Emergency!
Genre: Compare and Contrast, Friendship, Gen, Kind of meta, Minor Injuries, Roy Thinks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 19:49:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9622922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xcourtney_chaoticx/pseuds/xcourtney_chaoticx
Summary: Most people tend to think that Johnny Gage and Craig Brice were as different as could be in every way. Roy knows better, though.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a lovely comment on 'I Would Prefer to Stay Alone'

“Y’know, the two of you drive me nuts,” Roy says, shaking his head, “You really do.”

“Roy, I dunno that that’s fair-“

“We were only doing what was required, DeSoto, and-“

“It’s really not that big a deal-“

“They are minor injuries-“

“Mostly minor an-and-“

“Minor injuries? Dammit, John, you’ve got two cracked ribs, Brice here damn near broke his ankle, and both of ya have second-degree burns. I’m not sure that’s considered minor!”

“The burns are not severe. The are superficial, partial-thickness burns which should heal within two to three weeks with no scarring,” Brice says simply, “Also, the burns cover only about 15% of our total body surface area.”

“That’s a moderate burn,” Roy says flatly.

Johnny snorts and gives a grunt of pain, which sets Roy’s eyes rolling. _This is so ridiculous._ The whole situation is borderline unbelievable, honestly, but as much as Roy keeps hoping he’ll wake up, he hasn’t yet. Instead, he’s sitting in a hospital room with Johnny and Craig Brice. The two of them bicker quietly, half-ignoring Roy, until Dr. Early comes in to check on them. It gives Roy time to reflect.

At first blush, Johnny and Brice are complete opposites. Johnny is rather messy, likes to bend the rules sometimes, is impulsive and outspoken and talkative. Brice on the other hand, has the rulebook memorized. He’s clean cut and thinks everything through, occasionally has a lot to say but generally stays quiet. Johnny can make friends with everyone while Brice tends to alienate people. They’re dichotomous. It’s a wonder they can even stand to be in the same room with each other.

Roy knows better. Just looking at them, they’re similar, in a basic sense. Both are slender built with lean muscle that hides their strength, both having run track in high school. Each has brown hair they keep a bit long, brushing at the tops of their ears. They differ only in the face, where Johnny’s is thin with brown eyes and Brice has blue eyes with rounder cheeks, and in expression, one always smiling and the other somber. An old woman even asked if they were brothers once. _Which I don’t understand myself…_

Looking up, he sees Johnny wince as Early prods at his ribs, staying quiet through the exam. Many would think such silence uncharacteristic, but it’s not really. Contrary to popular belief, Johnny knows how to keep quiet when necessary. Melancholy also tends to quiet him. Roy never likes when he gets quiet because it means Johnny is upset about something, and he hates to see his friend upset. Johnny also isn’t as impulsive as people think. Cooler heads prevail more often than not, though that’s not to say he’s never impulsive. _We’ve all had our impulsive moments, even me._ Basically, he’s a good kid, and he’s smarter than anyone gives him credit for. Even Roy forgets how smart he is sometimes.

He doesn’t know Brice quite as well as he knows Johnny, but he knows enough. He never talks about his family or where he’s from or anything about his life prior to joining the fire department. If you get him started on the right subject, though, Brice will talk for hours, or at least until you physically walk away, but sometimes it’s interesting enough to listen to. While Brice comes off as cool and clear-headed, Roy has seen some decidedly impulsive behavior from him. He seems to want everyone to like him, and he seems to think that running into places others dare not will make them like him. It doesn’t, though it doesn’t stop him, either. And that’s really where the similarities lie.

Both of them need to be liked, and they’re willing to do whatever they think it takes in order to be liked. Both will overwork themselves to the point of exhaustion just to prove a point, then continue to work just as hard. When given the time to think it out, both will gladly run into a dangerous situation so someone else won’t have to, particularly someone they care about. Neither suffers fools well, and neither one puts up with outright bigotry. They’ll fight for what they believe in and people they love, fight fiercely, fight even if it’s ultimately useless. _Johnny and Brice are damn good friends to have._

“Alright, gentlemen,” Early says, “I think you better tell me the story ‘cause I’ve heard it, but I’m not sure I believe it.”

“Well, we were called to a house for a woman who was behavin’ erratically and barricaded herself in the bathroom. Guy heard the water runnin’ and was worried she’d drown, I reckon.”

“He revealed to us that the patient in question had consumed some LSD approximately two hours prior and seemed to be experiencing a ‘bad trip.’ He attempted to keep her isolated, but she escaped.”

“So- I- We broke down the door into the bathroom, and she was in the shower, steam pourin’ out of it, and she was laughin’ her head off, and we could see she was gettin’ scalded-“

“-so we had to remove her quickly-“

“-which was easier said than done… as you can see.”

“I can see it, but I don’t believe it.”

“The patient resented our presence and refused rescue quite vehemently.”

“Basically, doc, she put up a helluva fight. Pulled me in and down so I hit the side of the tub-“

“-and then I slipped in the tub trying to restrain her-“

“-and that’s why they both have second-degree burns,” Roy says, “because neither one was smart enough to turn off the water before chargin’ in.”

Early gave a snort of laughter, both Johnny and Brice looking properly embarrassed.

“It simply seemed urgent that we rescue her right away.”

“Yeah, we didn’t know she’d be so feisty.”

“Well, it could have been assumed-“

“Assumed? Brice- I- Now, look…”

They fall to bickering once more, and Roy rolls his eyes.


End file.
